Who is Candost?
I used to think that reading would make me wise.
One day, ten pages before finishing a book, I realized that I had read that same book before. At that point, my perspective on reading and, therefore, my life had changed.
Now, I don’t care how many books I read; I take many notes, connect dots, and share what I’ve found on this blog and my newsletter.
I’m interested in many things at the same time (I’m a multipotentialite). On this blog, you’ll find me talking to about multiple aspects of life like leadership, software engineering, philosophy, psychology, software architecture & design, urban & industrial design, exercising, finance, Formula1 Racing, eating healthy, and many more.
I’m a software engineering manager; that’s my current job.
At home, I’m a writer and an avid reader.
I rarely watch TV, movies or TV series. I don’t have any social media account (except Mastodon where I have automated posting of my new articles). Hence, I often miss the popular culture references in conversations. That’s alright. I don’t have FOMO; I embrace JOMO.
I rarely read fictional books.
I run, train for strength and do fitboxing. I am focused on increasing my lifespan and improving my healthspan.
I don’t have any analytics on this blog because knowing how many people reading my writing is NOT what I care about. I care about replies or comments to my thoughts so we can have meaningful conversations.
What I'm doing now.
Last updated at: 2026-04-14
I finally recovered. Two long sicknesses (first with flu then RSV) caused me to gain a few extra kilos. So, the first goal is to get back to exercising and then prepare for the Berlin Triathlon I registered to participate on June 7th. On the way, I aim to shed a few kilos.
Meanwhile, I took two weeks of vacation and decided to stay in Berlin and dedicate time to learn AI. I felt I was falling behind in this industry-changing times and wanted to learn as much as I could. I’m sharing the whole journey on this blog and also on my newsletter. I’m not into developing AI agents left and right or very custom tools or so. What I want to do is to learn what the hell is going on. Then, the time will show what I can do.
Building with AI
I subscribed to Claude Max (💸) to test the waters during my vacation and create an application for myself that I wanted for years. I had a $20 subscription but I hit its limit in 15 minutes 😅. Damn Claude, you’re expensive. I still feel uncomfortable to lock myself to Claude ecosystem. However, it’s super comfortable. I can practically develop an application while walking my dog. What I’m missing is testing other models. Luckily, I have access to other models at work.
Anyway, I’m full into the building mode with Claude. It feels amazing. I now can send blog articles from my phone with a newly built custom app. I will use it to feed my Journal section more with shorter journal-like posts on my progress with all the things written on this page.
Theater
In the last six months, I have been trying to continue my journey in Improv Theater. I am finishing the third level of Improv, which focuses on Patterns and Repetition. I must say this level is difficult. This is my fourth class (Level 1, Level 2.1 and 2.2) and oh boy, I feel awkward during the class because I don’t get it. But whatever, it’s still fun to push my brain into something unrelated to technology. It’s still way outside of my comfort zone and I constantly fail. In every class, there are so many moments where I fail. It’s good to learn how that feels. It sucks. But it’s still fun because you know what: there is nothing at stake!
As a next step, before continuing the level 4, I decided to take a slight detour and signed up for a class for scripted acting! It’s the first level class and I think it will be fun!
This hobby, learning how to act, how to be spontaneous, and how to create a character, stay in it and abstract it from yourself blows my mind sometimes. I love every piece of it. If you’re in Berlin, let me know and I’m happy to talk about this hobby and maybe we perform something together? Why not make ourselves a little sillier together?
Writing
Somehow, I’m also getting back to writing more often. I finally fell in love with my remarkable 2 again and my remarkable Paper Pro Move keeps me on track as I can carry it around wherever I like.
I also started journaling again and I want to keep it to even though 10 minutes per day.
As a side note, my parents are travelling Japan. I asked them to buy me a new fountain pen (Sailor Professional Gear with EF nib). I’m reaaaaally looking forward to using it!
Reading
- I’m listening to Antifragile by Taleb.
- I’m reading Co-Intelligence by Mollick.
Meanwhile, I’m very much into the Discworld series by Pratchett. I’m reading in the published order and finished the fourth book. Amazing.
Work
I am still working as an Engineering Manager at SumUp.
On the side, I was a part-time trainer for the AI Software Engineering Bootcamp by Digitale Leute for their first batch. I decided to step back from it due to a shift in my focus to building with AI.
Family and Friends Time
I spend time with my wife, whom I love and who is empathetic, beautiful, intelligent, sensual, and loving—a fantastic human being.
I also spend time with my friends, better called my selected family, as they are fantastic people.
